Bahrain denies buying Israel's anti-missile system

Manama: Authorities in Bahrain on Thursday denied that it was in negotiations along with some nations in the Gulf region to buy the Israeli-developed Iron Dome anti-missile system to defend against the alleged Iranian aggression in the region.

Several media outlets reported the weapon will be brought through Raytheon and other US defence contractors who developed the Iron Dome with Israeli arms giant Rafael.

The reports also quoted Bahrain's Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Khalifa as saying that GCC (the Gulf Cooperation Council) countries were planning a bigger Iron Dome than Israel's.

However, the Information Affairs and Shura Council Affairs Minister Isa Abdulrahman Al Hammadi denied in a statement the reports on Thursday, Xinhua reported.

"The Gulf Cooperation Council states are looking into buying an anti-missile defence system from the US, and there are no attempts whatsoever to purchase the system from Israel as claimed by the television channel,"said the official.

Like other GCC countries, Bahrain has no diplomatic relations with Israel.